![Indiana’s early voting turnout this year is well ahead of the last two midterm elections. - (Steve Burns/WTIU)](/files/wfyi/articles/current/voters-steve-burns-wtiu_Oli10uVS.jpg)
Indiana’s early voting turnout this year is well ahead of the last two midterm elections.
(Steve Burns/WTIU)Indiana’s early voting turnout this year is well ahead of the last two midterm elections. And heading into the final day of in-person early voting, absentee ballots were starting to approach even 2016’s numbers, which were the highest in state history.
Midterm elections typically see lower overall voter turnout. And in 2014, the last midterm, Indiana had the lowest turnout in the country – in large part because the highest elected office on the ballot was Secretary of State.
This year, with a crucial U.S. Senate race, Indiana’s early voting turnout is more than double 2014’s. It’s also nearly double the 2010 absentee ballots – an Indiana midterm election that had a major Senate race.
Through the weekend, early voters were just about a quarter off of 2016’s early voting turnout, a much higher turnout election overall than this year will likely see.
It is important to note that over the last decade, both election officials and political campaigns put greater emphasis on voting early.